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Police in Beijing are said to have staged a fake model casting at Chinese agency M3 at the end of last week in order to catch them out. Four models have reportedly been jailed, while as many as 60 are said to be in custody and will likely be deported. All have had their passports and mobile phones confiscated, reports
Fashionista.

More models are said to have been arrested in Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, and have cooperated with police by giving out addresses of model apartments in the city.

Models are now said to be advising each other not to open their doors to strangers, answer phones or turn on the lights in their apartments at night.

The issue has arisen because it is far easier to obtain a tourist visa than an entertainment visa, which is what is legally required for a model to work in the country. Entertainment visas take at least two months to be processed and require more effort on the part of the model and their agency, therefore agencies often ask their models to work illegally under tourist visas.